SAD asks Centre to lift rail blockade imposed on Punjab

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema on Thursday asked the union government to lift the suspension of trains services in Punjab even as it termed the breakdown of talks between Punjab Congress MPs and Railways minister Piyush Goyal on this issue as unfortunate. In a statement here, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said in a federal structure it was incumbent on the central government to respect the authority of the States and resolve their genuine problems. “In the present case, the farmer organizations have already lifted their ‘rail roko’ agitation and also announced they will not block any rail tracks in Punjab till November 18. In such a situation, the centre should not come in the way of re-starting of train services to Punjab and the Railways minister should announce resumption of train services. It is unfortunate that this has not been done. The centre should not be so stringent and dictatorial. This attitude is not healthy for a vibrant democracy like India,” he added. Also Read | Ministry of Railways announces 39 new special trains [Check List] Asking the centre and the Punjab Congress to hold talks again to find a solution to the present imbroglio, Cheema said the centre should not try to settle any scores with agitating farmers and make the entire farming community and trade and commerce suffer due to this. Also Read | Here is how you can gain muscle instead of fat He said the State government on its part should also take necessary steps to ensure resumption of train service in Punjab. “Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh should have gone to meet the Railways minister Piyush Goyal himself rather than leaving this to the Congress MPs only. Similarly the Railways minister should have also adjudicated on the case on merit rather than seeing it from the point of view of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the latter’s politics”. The SAD leader also made a separate request to the Railways minister to resume all inbound goods trains in Punjab, saying a power crisis was looming over Punjab due to shortage of coal even as supplies of fertilizers had been hit and trade and industry was suffering huge losses. He said the crisis had also soured Central- State relations which would have an adverse effect on the social and economic condition of the State. “Efforts should be taken by both sides to bridge this gap through responsible and affirmative action to ensure Punjabis do not suffer”. -PTC News